Club's 120 years of making history

CITY VENUE HAS INSPIRED AND TOUCHED GENERATIONS

- NEAL KEELING

It opened officially on January 31, 1904.

The ceremony was conducted by Major General Baden Powell, the 'gallant defender of Mafeking' as the Daily Despatch described him in the paper's coverage of the event.

Its role in the region can't be underestimated. In its heyday it had 2,000 members. Today it has 250, yet remains part of the fabric of the city and a vital resource to steer young people on the right path.

Salford Lads Club, which actually opened its doors a few months before the ceremony in 1903, is now under threat of closure. It urgently needs a quarter of a million pounds cash injection to survive.

As the Manchester Evening News launches a fundraiser to help secure the future of this vital community asset, reporter Neal Keeling takes a look back at the club's proud 120 year history.

FROM BADEN POWELL TO THE SMITHS

Steeped in the establishment, Baden Powell created a code by which young boys should live with the Scout Movement. But it was a music maverick and his band who brought Salford Lads and Girls Club global fame and in so doing so secured funding.

On a cold November day in 1985, The Smiths chose the entrance to the club for a photoshoot. Then a young photographer, Stephen Wright shot five reels of film with 36 pictures on each, with a £150 Nikon camera. One of those photographs is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

The black and white picture taken by Wright became part of the city's rock heritage. In time, the band's association with the red-bricked Edwardian building was a source of desperately needed funds. The group's singer Morrissey donated £20,000 to the club in 2007 to help with its restoration.

Morrissey's admiration for playwright Shelagh Delaney, who was born in Salford, means the city is entwined in the band's history. The iconic picture of The Smiths was used on the inner sleeve of The Queen Is Dead album.